China Vs. U.S.: A Political Analysis of U.S.—China Competition, a Police State Vs. a Democracy

By Brad Peery

Brad Peery shows why Chinas rise and the Belt and Road Initiative must be a top concern for the Trump administration. A must read to understand US-China relations from an American perspective.

Dr. Sebastien Goulard, coordinator of OBOReurope

Chinas One Belt, One Road Initiative, in which it is investing in about seventy countries, will allow it to develop maritime ports to challenge the supremacy of the United States of America in a way the world has never seen.

As a police state with almost ninety million Communist Party members and a leader for life, China seeks to replace the United States as the strongest country in the world politically, technologically, and militarily.

While the United States is at a disadvantage because of changing presidential administrations, it has one strategic advantage: It can spur technological innovation through the private sector. It also has President Donald Trump, who is challenging China in ways previous administrations did not.

Brad Peery, a former U.S. Senate candidate with decades of experience in the investment industry, examines Trumps policies as well as the political, ethical, and economic issues that face companies trying to do business in China.

He also explores how China is developing or supporting emerging technologies such as self-driving and electric vehicles, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence and stealing intellectual property from American companies along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Sep 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781480866386

Brad Peery

Brad Peery is a former U.S. Senate candidate who challenged Lowell Weicker in the 1982 Connecticut Senate primary. He is also the author of the blog ArmchairTechInvestor.com, which was the impetus for this book that examines the issues that China and the United States of America face amid the backdrop of a Trump presidency. He has more than forty years of experience in the investment industry as a financial analyst, portfolio manager and investment banker. He had his own broker-dealer from 1983 to 2003. He has had his own investment banking firm, Brad Peery Capital, LLC since 1991.

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Copyright © 2018 Brad Peery.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-6637-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-6638-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018909025

Archway Publishing rev. date: 8/24/2018

Contents

Prologue

Media Bias, Trump Russian Collusion, Brad Peery Background and Blogs

Introduction

Obama Legacy Issues, Recent U.S. International Issues, Trump State of the Union Address-2018-Achievements-2017, Plans-2018, ABC Response to State of the Union Address, Trump Has Addressed Significant U.S. Weaknesses, Worldwide Threats, China vs. U.S.-2018 Book Overview

Chapter 1

China vs. U.S-Economy, Regulation, Territorial Ambitions-Trade, Xi Reorganization, One Belt, Growth, Jobs, U.S. Immigration, Chinese International, China vs. U.S.-Trade, Trans Pacific Partnership, Nafta, Visas, WTO, U.S. Investment, Currency, U.S. Trade Deficit and Jobs

Chapter 2

China’s One Belt, One Road Trade Initiative

Chapter 3

Trump Budget, Economic Assumptions, Budget Strategy, Tax Reductions, Immigration, Entitlement Programs, Household Debt, Debt: U.S. National Debt And Fed Portfolio Balances, Deficit, and Government Funding and the Debt Ceiling

Chapter 4

Chinese Local Investment Objectives, Economy, Capital Investment, Consumer Investment, Chinese Companies, Financial Markets

Chinese Tech Companies:

Alibaba

Anbang

Baidu

Broadcom

Huawei

Tencent Holdings

Xiaomi

Zejiang Geely-Daimler-Volvo

ZTE

Chapter 5

U.S. and Foreign Tech Companies in China-Company and China Market Access Background

U.S. Tech Companies:

Alphabet (Google)

Amazon

Apple

Boeing

Daimler

Facebook

IBM

Lockheed Martin

Microsoft

Qualcomm

Tesla

Chapter 6

Chinese and U.S. Defenses, Army, Navy, Air Force, Nuclear Weapons, Missiles And Space

Chapter 7

Foreign Policy-Europe, Russia, the Balkans, Ukraine, NATO and the United Nations

Chapter 8

Chinese and U.S. Foreign Policy-Asia, the Arctic and Africa

Chapter 9

Chinese and U.S. Foreign Policy-Middle East

Chapter 10

Chinese and U.S. Climate Change, Energy, and Renewables Development

Chapter 11

Chinese and U.S. Education and Technology: Artificial Intelligence, Bitcoins and Blockchain Technology, CyberSecurity and Quantum Computing

Chapter 12

U.S. Infrastructure, Air Traffic Control and Inland Waterway Systems

Chapter 13

U.S. Legal and Law Enforcement-Housing, Inner Cities, Supreme Court and Other Court Appointments

Chapter 14

Regulation-Banks, Communications and the Environment

Chapter 15

China vs. U.S. 2018 Conclusions

Bibliography

PROLOGUE

Media Bias, Trump Russian Collusion, Brad Peery Background and Blogs

Trump Russian Collusion

A House FISA Memo Shows That High Level Employees In The DOJ Used Illegal Methods To Defeat Trump And Start The Mueller Russian Investigation

The Mueller Russian investigation has through February 2018 so far not shown any Trump collusion with Russia, but even a baseless investigation weakens the U.S. internationally and helps China and others that are seeking to reduce worldwide U.S. influence.

*Trump, during his presidential campaign, claimed that he was being spied on by the Obama administration. He was widely criticized by most of the media. It appears he was correct. During the campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was in need of funds, and Hillary Clinton basically funded and controlled the DNC. During the campaign, Bernie Sanders was discriminated against by the DNC. Should socialism as espoused by Bernie Sanders prevail within the Democratic Party, this will likely lessen the effectiveness of the U.S. in confronting Chinese ambitions.

The Hillary Clinton campaign and the DNC paid for a Fusion dossier on Donald Trump that was based largely on unsubstantiated Russian declarations. It was presented to the FBI, despite the fact it was unverified, paid for by the Democratic National Committee, and Hillary Clinton, and the financing sources were not disclosed to the FISA Court.

The memo states that in December 2017, then FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe testified that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISA court without the Steele dossier information.

*House memo states disputed dossier was key to FBI’s FISA warrant to surveil members of Team Trump, Fox News, By Alex Pappas, Catherine Herridge, and Brooke Singman, February 2, 2018

**Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the author of the opposition research dossier on then-candidate Donald Trump and Russia was acting on his own volition when he went to the FBI, because he was concerned that a presidential candidate was being blackmailed, according to the 312-page transcript of his testimony. Sources familiar with House and Senate investigations say this is the FBI’s dossier talking point 24 months after agents were first briefed in July 2016, as Donald Trump battled Hillary Clinton for the White House.

Simpson told a Congressional committee in closed-door testimony in August, 2016, which was released publicly in January, 2018, that he did not know how the FBI would react when ex-British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, the author of the dossier, went to the bureau in July 2016.

This was a political indictment of Trump that was used by the highest echelons of the FBI to get a FISA warrant, from the most secret court in the U.S. The purpose of the FISA warrant was to spy on a Trump campaign official, Carter Page. It was not disclosed to the FISA court that the dossier was paid for by Clinton and the DNC, and was unverified. Because it was paid for by Clinton and the DNC, it was probably illegal to use it because of the funding sources.

**Fusion co-founder: Dossier author feared Trump was being blackmailed, CNN Politics, By Jeremy Herb, Manu Raju and Marshall Cohen, CNN, Updated January 10, 2018

***The most recent witness was FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who spent nearly eight hours in December, 2017 in a closed session before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Republicans believe they have unearthed a scandal inside the bureau’s top echelons over its determination to target Trump associates based on flimsy evidence and improper Justice Department contacts.

Republican committee members pressed Mr. McCabe about a dossier that was financed by the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign based on gossip-tinged information from paid, unidentified Kremlin operatives. Mr. McCabe declined to criticize the dossier’s 35 pages of salacious and criminal charges against Donald Trump and his aides, but he said it remains largely unverified, according to a source familiar with ongoing Congressional inquiries.

Sources speculated to The Washington Times that it would be embarrassing for Mr. McCabe to condemn a political opposition research paper on which his agents based decisions to open a counterintelligence investigation and interview witnesses. Some press reports said the FBI cited the dossier’s information in requests for court-approved wiretaps. Mr. McCabe retired in March 2018, without reaching his retirement age.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz is investigating whether Mr. McCabe should have recused himself from the Clinton email investigation in 2015 and 2016. Mr. McCabe’s wife, an unsuccessful 2015 Democratic candidate for Virginia state Senate, received more than $700,000 in campaign donations from two PACs, one of which was controlled by Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a close Clinton ally. Mr. McCabe was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, which was recommended by the Office of Professional Responsibility. He was two days away from his retirement and will lose his accrued pension benefits.

***Embattled FBI admits it can’t verify dossier claims of Russia, Trump campaign collusion, The Washington Times, By Rowan Scarborough, December 25, 2017

**** Other Hillary Clinton issues exist. Bill Clinton met with Attorney General Roberta Lynch at the time that Clinton’s private emails were being investigated. They supposedly met accidentally, and Lynch claimed to have discussed grandchildren, golf and travel and Lynch stated that they did not discuss Hillary’s email server issues or the Benghazi attacks, a report about which had been released the previous day.

****Bill Clinton, AG Loretta Lynch meet on tarmac in Phoenix, CBS News, By Emily Schultheis, June 29, 2016

There are also allegations that Hillary Clinton used pay-to-play tactics to gain access to her as Secretary of State in return for contributions to the Clinton Foundation.

*****According to the New York Daily News, Federal investigators spent a substantial amount of time considering reopening an investigation into allegations that the Clinton Foundation promised political favors for donations. FBI agents were looking at whether donors were improperly given access to Hillary Clinton while she was serving as secretary of state, . The Feds shut down an initial dive into the nonprofit and Clinton, who ran the State Department from 2009 through 2013, two years ago. The renewed investigation is being run out of the FBI’s field office in Little Rock, Ark., where the foundation has offices.

*****FBI investigating Clinton Foundation for pay-to-play: reports, New York Daily News, By Christopher Brennan and Denis Slattery, Updated, January 5, 2018

******Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, both FBI employees discussed a strategy, that probably involved Andrew McCabe, and probably occurred in his office, that would be an insurance policy in the event that Trump, whom they disliked intensely, won the election. According the WND, Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is soliciting answers from the Justice Department about a text from one of the FBI’s top Russian counterintelligence experts discussing an insurance policy in the event that presidential candidate Trump won the presidential election.

According to WND, after months of attacking then-candidate Trump and stating that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton just has to win, Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page exchanged a text about a so-called insurance policy against a possible Trump win.

******FBI On Hot Seat Over ‘Insurance Policy’ Against Trump Election, WND, By Chelsea Schilling, 12/14/2017

The Special Counselor Mueller investigation into Trump collusion with the Russians also has other possible conflicts, which were discussed previously. Also no charges have been filed against Trump.

ArmchairTechInvestor Opinion

This book has covered the activities of some of the highest officials in the Department of Justice and their activities in opposition to the election of Donald Trump, including those of James Comey, the FBI director fired by Trump. The firing of Comey resulted in the appointment of the Special Counsel Robert Mueller to investigate possible collusion of the Trump campaign, despite no evidence has been disclosed that substantiate such claims. One of the actions of Comey was the leaking of a memo through a professor friend to the New York Times that included his interpretation of private meetings with Trump, which may have been contained classified information, and been an illegal activity.

Other subjects covered by this book are the questionable actions by Bill and Hillary Clinton and the dossier financed partly by Clinton, which was used by the Clinton campaign through the offices of the Department of Justice and the FBI to fight the election of Donald Trump.

Media Bias

Media Bias & Trump Overstatements Both Occur: How Does That Distort The Reporting Of World Events?

There is clearly a media bias against President Trump. It can be characterized by Harvard’s Shorenstein Center study that showed that 93% of the stories about Trump have been negative. In a neutral media environment, one would only expect 50% of the stories would be negative. However, the media needs to cover stories in a controversial way to generate interest and controversy, so there is a certain rationale for their behavior. Since Trump won the presidential election on a conservative agenda, one can presume that there is a liberal media bias, or Trump has done miserably in his performance. If the media is misrepresenting the actual situation, it is likely to catch up with them. The American public is often informed in other ways, such as over the Internet. Trump has clearly had his successes, particularly internationally and in the U.S. judicial system, but the media has not covered them.

Going against Trump is the intransigence of the Democrats in Congress, who have so far been unwilling to develop anything other than a very liberal agenda that was developed during the presidential election, with Senator Bernie Sanders driving their agenda towards socialism. The first deviation from this policy occurred in February, 2018, when a 2-year budget was approved that substantially increased funding for the military, and also increased social spending.

Socialism has not worked anywhere, and recent results in Europe show the downside of socialism. Even China and Russia could have been socialist countries, but the have evolved to support competitive markets that they try to control. President Trump has not had any success so far in getting approval of healthcare, tax reduction, or other programs that would impact the economy. However, some regulation relief and the prospect tax reductions have clearly been a factor in the strong stock market performance, which are all beneficial to the near and long-term prospects for businesses.

ArmchairTechInvestor Opinion

There is a dichotomy between what happens in the political arena and between what happens in world events. What Trump calls fake news, such as the possible collusion between Russia and President Trump that resulted in a special prosecutor, Robert Mueller. President Trump attempts to take credit for events for which his administration has had little impact, such as a job growth, and the performance of the economy. However, the prospects of the tax cuts could have been influential in producing a strong stock market and economy.

The media has been focused on happenings that distract from reporting on the real issues that the U.S. faces, such as confronting the adversarial activities of China, Russia, ISIS, Iran and North Korea. The Democrats in the U.S. Senate have refused to help in developing U.S. policy, and the Republicans in the Senate are split, so no major legislation as of February, 2018, has been passed, other than the tax cuts.

Media Bias: Both CBS And CNN Distort Comey Testimony.

The liberal media and the Democrats are trying to take Trump down, and distortions by the liberal media are an important element of that joint effort. The Democrats have been totally obstructionist. The liberal media takes content out of context, and in many cases distorts the situation to the detriment of President Trump and his administration. An illustration of this was given earlier in this book by analyzing ABC’s reporting of Trump’s State of the Union Address.

James Comey submitted a copy of the testimony he gave in a public setting, early in the Trump Presidency. President Trump’s claimed that Comey said on three occasions that Trump was not being investigated by the FBI with regard to the investigation into Russian involvement in the elections in 2016.

Comey’s testimony described encounters when Trump said he hoped the FBI would see its way clear to clear General Flynn, who was let go by Trump because he lied to VP Pence about some Russian contacts. Trump and Comey said that honest loyalty was what was agreed to by both parties. CBS and CNN both took this encounter out of context and said that Trump was demanding that was the FBI drop the Investigation. The language and Trump’s statements contradict this interpretation.

Obstruction of justice by Trump is also a manufactured situation designed to smear Trump by just raising the question. There has so far been no credible evidence of criminal wrong doing by Trump.

The investigation of involvement of the Trump campaign in collusion with the Russians appears to be another manufactured situation that so far has no basis in fact. However, it has resulted in Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General, recusing himself from the investigation, and a special prosecutor being appointed. All of this has happened despite there being no data to reflect this is even a possibility. The special prosecutor is a former colleague of James Comey, another indication of the politicized situation in Washington. The Republicans have been very weak in confronting this baseless assault by the Democrats and the liberal media on the Trump administration.

The Liberal Media Bias Has Been Documented: The Most Covered President Ever Has Extremely Negative Media Coverage

A study by Harvard’s Shorenstein Center, a widely respected organization that chronicles media coverage, has provided details of Trump media coverage. The Center examined the tone and content of media coverage of President Trump for his first 100 days in office.

CNN, NBC, Fox and CBS were the four media companies covered in the study. Among the liberal media, CNN and NBC were the worst with 93% of their coverage being negative. Marginally better was CBS, which also provides liberal media biased coverage, was one percentage point better, with 92% negative coverage. Fox News is viewed as conservative media company. It was the only major media company that came close to being unbiased, with 52 percentage of its Trump coverage being negative.

The liberal news programs it appears have gone from being reporters of world events, to distorting their coverage to build controversy and promote the Democrats and their liberal political agenda.

The newspapers studied were The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times, and The Washington Post, are liberal newspapers, but slightly less biased than CNN, NBC and CBS, with 87% and 83% negative coverage respectively. The Wall Street Journal provides investment news coverage to its subscribers, and for that reason, appears to be relatively objective in its coverage of news events. Despite this objectivity, The Wall Street Journal still provided 70% negative coverage of President Trump.

The Liberal Press Vs. President Trump

In general, the media is strongly biased against Mr. Trump and his policies. The media is so biased continually that it is difficult to chronicle their inaccuracies, because there are so many. This book is more focused on the results that are being achieved, but we will occasionally comment on the inaccuracies. CNN, the New York Times, the Washington Post, NBC, CBS and ABC are the most inaccurate of the reporting media that we have been following. We consider the Wall Street Journal to be the most reliable print media, and Fox to be the least unbiased of the national networks.

ArmchairTechInvestor Opinion

ArmchairTechInvestor’s original objective was to examine the liberal media coverage of Trump. Instead, this book looks at the Trump objectives and results. Many of the positive results are in the Middle East, but Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America are covered also. We are also looking at the realities of the positive performance of the U.S. economy and the U.S. Government. So far, the military and deregulation, plus the approval of a Supreme Court Justice, and many appellate court justices (13 by February, 2018) are Trump administration achievements.

Brad Peery Background and Blogs

The blog ArmchairTechInvestor was created by Brad Peery, a former U.S. Senate candidate, who challenged Lowell Weicker in the 1982 Connecticut Senate Primary. The other candidates were Robin Moore, the author of the Green Berets, and Prescott Bush. When Prescott Bush came into the race, financing became unavailable to candidates not connected to traditional financing sources that lobby U.S. Congressional representatives to promote their causes. Money drives politics.

Mr. Peery has a love for politics, and provides an analyst perspective of the issues being faced by the Trump Presidency.

The author has over 40 years of experience in the investment industry. He was the first Wall Street telecom analyst in 1972. He followed the telecom industry for over 30 years. His broker-dealer was an underwriter in over 200 telecom syndicates in the 1990s, His investment banking firm managed partnerships that invested through both U.S. and offshore entities. His investment banking firm also invested in over 20 private early-stage broadband communications companies.

The telecom industry, being global, allowed Mr. Peery to be a worldwide telecom economist. This required understanding the economic issues that faced companies trying to do business in countries such as China and India. He was an advisor to companies that included American Express, Wellington, T Rowe Price, and many other large money managers. Underwriting partners included Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Alex Brown, and many other large underwriters.

He was recently an advisor to companies in the medical technology area, and to a company, ChromaWay, which is developing colored coins, a blockchain technology application that allows many kinds of assets to be transferred securely, and inexpensively worldwide over the bitcoin blockchain network. Blockchain technology will be the underlying technology that will move banks and other financial institutions into the blockchain currency opportunity and improve the FinTech technology being pioneered by bitcoin technology.

Etherium is another blockchain application that has made improvements over bitcoins, and has its own currency, ethers. Litecoin and Ripple are two other currencies and blockchain technologies that are being developed.

Brad is currently developing two Blogs, ArmchairPolitician.US and ArmchairTechInvestor.com. The ArmchairPolitician.US blog postings are about President Trump’s Policies and their success in being implemented, the role the liberal media and the Democrats are having in blocking that success, and details of foreign policy objectives, domestic economic and defense policy, and regulation in area such as the environment, energy, business, and the economy. This blog is structured in a way that this could be the first of several books that will look objectively at U.S. political issues, and worldwide technology developments.

The second blog, ArmchairTechInvestor.com, is a summary of the companies and countries, such as China, that are developing or supporting emerging technologies that will likely be game changing. These include quantum computing, artificial intelligence, small nuclear power plants, robots, drones, cognitive computing, holograms, and internet of things (IoT), plus others.

We have been writing about U.S.-Chinese relations and U.S. relations with China has become a book, China vs. U.S. 2018, A Police State vs. A Democracy. The China book will outline the important issues facing each country as they compete with each other globally. Of great importance are technologies such as quantum computing, electric vehicles, military, and global trade that China would like to dominate. The China topics are being included on the ArmchairTechInvestor ArmchairPolitician.US blog sites.

This book will outline the details of U.S. foreign policy, particularly as they are directed toward defeating ISIS, developing Middle East coalitions to confront Iran and their Hezbollah, and Houthis proxies in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. We will also examine U.S. objectives relative to domestic economic and defense policies, and regulation in area such as the environment, energy and the economy. This book and the associated blog are structured in a way that this could be the second of several books that will look objectively at U.S. political issues.

International relations are also important parts of this book. The Europeans are going through their problems, particularly in handling millions of people immigrating into the EU with virtually no vetting of the immigrants. They face weakened defenses in view of the aggressive international ambitions of China and the Russians in the Balkans, Ukraine and elsewhere. Trump seems to be having some success in getting the NATO countries to meet their agreements to spend 2% of their GDP on defense. This could help improve their readiness, with Germany in particular being in need of improved defenses. So far unaddressed by the U.S. are the global political, economic, and military ambitions China is addressing by the development of its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) Initiative and the relations China is developing with about 70 countries.

ArmchairTechInvestor.Com Opinion and Objective

ArmchairTechInvestor’s objective is to examine media coverage of Trump, analyze Trump’s political objectives and results, then scrutinize the realities of the performance of the U.S. economy and the U.S. Government globally. Of particular interest is how the U.S. will meet the Chinese OBOR Initiative and technology developments’ global threat over the next 20 years. We have been publishing our ArmchairTechInvestor blog since late 2017.

INTRODUCTION

Obama Legacy Issues, Recent U.S. International Issues, Trump State of the Union Address-2018-Achievements-2017, Plans-2018, ABC Response to State of the Union Address, Trump Has Addressed Significant U.S. Weaknesses, Worldwide Threats, China vs. U.S.-2018 Book Overview

Obama Legacy Issues

President Obama signed an Iran Nuclear Agreement. Because Iran is Shiite, this alienated Sunni U.S. partners in the Middle East, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and about another 45 Sunni Arab partners. The Obama administration tried to develop a dialogue with Iran, but failed, as is evident from the violently anti-America attitude of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran. A significant Obama mistake was the Iran Nuclear Agreement. It freed up substantial Iranian assets that are being used to finance their terrorist activities, estranged the U.S. from Israel, and Middle East countries that include Saudi Arabia. Iran is working with North Korea, and unless North Korea can be stopped, it is likely that both countries will end up with shared nuclear and missile launch capabilities.

Obama also caused the relationship with Israel to deteriorate. Trump has restored the U.S. relationship with one of the strongest democracies in the world. The fight to preserve democracy is strongly of conflict with China and Russia that feel threatened by the freedoms afforded to the citizens of countries such as the U.S., countries in Europe, South Korea, Japan and India, which could be all be very strong allies of the U.S.

Obama managed what he turned into a historically weak U.S. economy from 2009 to 2016. In the defense area. Obama substantially reduced U.S. military readiness, and drastically reduced troop levels in the Middle East. Separately, he failed to address aggressive regional expansion by Iran, Russia, China and ISIS. He failed to address the unwillingness of some countries to meet their NATO defense expenditure commitments. He ignored the porous U.S. borders that have contributed to drugs and gangs. He promoted immigration without proper vetting from the Middle East. Also, the relationships with Israel and Middle Eastern countries such a Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries deteriorated. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have organized about 50 of these countries, mostly Sunni Muslim countries, to combat terrorism. Many of these countries, including Saudi Arabia, are now working with Israel.

Obama came into power at the low point of the 2007-2009 recession. Normally following a recession, the economy would accelerate rapidly for several years, and then slow down, with the result typically having been a growth rate that averaged over 3%. Obama only managed to achieve an all-time low economic growth rate of 2% over his eight years is office. The Obama administration had an anti-banking attitude, probably because his administration blamed the financial industry companies for the 2007-2009 recession, particularly the banks. He adopted the Dodd-Frank regulations, which slowed bank lending significantly. This was accompanied by an anti-business attitude that was characterized by a significant number of new regulations on businesses

Trump State of the Union Address-2018-Achievements-2017, Plans-2018

• Wants to Make America Great for all Americans;

• Has dealt with hurricanes, floods and fires;

• 200,000 new manufacturing jobs were created;

• Wages are rising;

• Lowest unemployment rates have been achieved;

ο African American unemployment is at lowest ever; and

ο Hispanic unemployment is also at the lowest ever;

• Small business confidence is strong;

• The stock market strong;

• Workers 401K retirement programs are up;

• About the third largest tax cuts and reforms in history have been achieved;

• Middle class and small business in particular are benefitting;

• Family tax deductions have been doubled to $24,000;

• The child tax credit has been doubled;

• The Obamacare individual healthcare mandate has been eliminated;

• Trump slashed the business tax rate to 21% to make U.S. businesses competitive worldwide;

• Small business has had a 20% tax reduction increase;

• So far there have been 3 million tax cut bonuses;

• $350 billion is being returned to the U.S. by Apple and 20,000 U.S workers will be added;

• Exxon is making a $50 billion investment in U.S.;

• American flag pride will be encouraged;

• In God We Trust will also be encouraged;

• The police, military and veterans will be supported;

• The child who put flags on 40,000 graves of soldiers was recognized;

• Standing for the National Anthem will be encouraged;

• Choice in healthcare will be pursued;

• The Veterans Administration Accountability Act reforms the VA;

ο 1,500 people who didn’t perform are gone; and

ο Veterans need to be taken care of;

• Federal workers who fail need to be removed;

• Regulation removal is being pursued;

• The war on energy and clean coal has been ended;

• Detroit is revving up its engines;

ο Chrysler is moving a major plant from Mexico to Michigan;

ο Toyota and Mazda will build a plant in Alabama;

ο All of the auto companies are coming back and new plants will be everywhere, according to Trump;

ο The U.S. is where the action is;

• We are becoming an exporter of energy to the world;

• The FDA is approving medical devices more quickly;

• Experimental technology should be made available for the terminally ill;

• The U.S. must reduce the price of prescription drugs;

ο They cost less internationally;

ο This is a top priority; and

ο Lower prices will occur;

• The U.S. faces unfair trade practices;

ο Trade deals must be reciprocal;

ο There will be new trade deals;

ο Intellectual property will be protected; and

ο Enforcement will be strong;

• Infrastructure issues;

ο $1.5 trillion is needed for infrastructure over 10 years;

ο State & Local involvement is needed;

ο Private investment will be encouraged;

ο A 1-2 year approval process needs to be developed;

ο Roads, bridges, highways, waterways, and railways need to be improved;

• Workforce development and job training are needed;

ο Vocational schools are needed;

• Prison reform is needed;

ο Second chances should be given to prisoners;

ο Avoid development of terrorists;

• Illegal immigrant communities cause problems;

ο There are losses of lives caused by illegal immigrants;

ο They are competing for U.S. citizen’s jobs;

ο There is a need to close loopholes;

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities help with the problem;

ο U.S. citizens need to be protected;

ο The U.S. needs to defend them; and

ο Americans are dreamers too;

• A needed immigration reform package has four pillars. The package needs to be detailed, and a fair compromise needs to be negotiated with the Democrats;

ο There needs to be a path to citizenship for 1.8 million illegal immigrants;

ο There needs to be education and work requirements plus good citizenship over 12 years;

ο The U,S. needs to secure the border fully;

♣ A wall is needed;

♣ More border patrol people are required;

♣ Catch and release needs to be ended;

• It is dangerous;

• The visa lottery needs to be ended and immigration must;

ο Be merit based;

ο Those approved must love and respect the U.S.;

ο They must be skilled; and

ο They must work;

• The U.S. needs to end chain migration;

ο Distant relatives should not be allowed to enter;

ο Spouses and minor children should be allowed;

• U.S. Opioid and drug addiction needs to be addressed;

ο The sources of U.S. opioids need to be restricted, including those coming from China via the U.S. mail system;

ο The U.S. needs to be tougher on dealers;

ο Treatment needs to be provided;

• Terrorists need to be pursued;

• Countries that could be a threat include;

ο China; and

ο Russia;

• Unmatched military power is needed;

ο Sequestration needs to be ended;

ο The U.S. needs to modernize and rebuild defenses;

• The U.S. needs to extinguish ISIS;

ο Close to 100% of their territory in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere has been recaptured;

ο The U.S. needs to continue the fight;

• Unlawful enemy combatants are a U.S. problem;

ο They need to be treated like terrorists;

ο Many are let go;

ο The U.S. needs to keep Guantanamo open;

• In Afghanistan;

ο We have new rules of engagement;

ο We don’t tell our plans publically;

• The U.N. has been unfair;

• With regard to Israel;

ο Jerusalem is the capital;

• $20 billion of U.S. aid is being sent;

ο It will go only to friends;

• Iran policy;

ο Stand with Iranian people in their quest for freedom; and

ο The Nuclear Pact is flawed;

• With regard to Cuba and Venezuela;

ο We need to put sanctions on dictatorships;

• North Korea issues;

ο Nuclear missiles are a risk to U.S.; and

ο They are a threat to America and our allies;

• We need to protect our citizens;

ο Talents such as music need to be nurtured;

ο Science and discovery are important personal qualities;

ο They are Making America Great again;

• Rediscovering America again will be the theme for 2018.

ABC Response to State of the Union Address

TRUMP CLAIM 3: We are now an exporter of energy to the world.

ABC TAKE: Mostly spin

According to ABC: Continuing a longstanding trend, energy exports did tick up slightly during the first 10 months of the Trump administration, from 11.5 quadrillion BTU (standard unit of measurement) in January to October 2016 to 14.6 quadrillion BTU in January to October 2017. But the U.S. has exported energy, from crude oil to natural gas to coal, for a long time.

ArmcairTechInvestor Response: The increase in U.S. energy was more than an uptick. Exports increased by 27% in 2017. The increases are probably largely from liquefied natural gas (LNG) from shale, which Trump has supported, and from coal, for which China is the largest importer, and which Trump has also supported.

TRUMP CLAIM 5: Working with the Senate, we are appointing judges who will interpret the Constitution as written, including a great new Supreme Court justice, and more circuit court judges than any new administration in the history of our country.

ABC TAKE: True

ABC WHY: The Senate confirmed 12 of Trump’s circuit court nominees in his first year in office — far more than his recent predecessors.

ArmcairTechInvestor Response: In this case, ABC got it right.

TRUMP CLAIM 6: The coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated very close to 100 percent of the territory just recently held by these killers in Iraq and in Syria and in other locations as well.

ABC TAKE: True

ABC WHY: The State Department reported in December, 2017 that ISIS had lost 98 percent of the territory it once held specifically in Iraq and Syria.

ArmcairTechInvestor Response: The Trump claim is close to being true. The reality is that 50% of the 98% that has been liberated occurred during the first 11 months of the Trump administration. Giving authority to military troops on the ground, a change from the Obama administration, was an important element in this success. However, the battle against ISIS has expanded geographically to the Philippines and other places in Asia, plus West Africa. Terrorist cells also remain in Syria and Iraq and have increased in Afghanistan during 2018. The efforts to defeat ISIS must continue.

TRUMP CLAIM 7: Under the current broken system, a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives. Under our plan, we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. This vital reform is necessary, not just for our economy, but for our security and our future.

ABC TAKE: False

ABC WHY: Citizens and green card holders can petition for immediate family, not an unlimited number of family members.

ArmcairTechInvestor Response: The ABC response of false is misleading or incorrect. It is our understanding that anyone who gets a green card can petition to bring in their family, who in turn get green cards and can bring in their relatives. There are 4 million such persons waiting for entry into the U.S.

Additionally, ABC said the green card holders can petition for a spouse, minor child, or unmarried son or daughter, to also become a permanent resident. And, refugees or asylum seekers can apply for a spouse or minor child to also obtain their refugee or asylum status. Still, after applying, there is a long waiting list for all applicants besides a spouse, parent or minor child. As of November 2017, nearly 4 million people are waiting to get off the list, according to the State Department. Once someone gets to the front of the line, he or she must pass the required background checks and meet the other requirements for admission.

TRUMP CLAIM 8: For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. They have allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans. Most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives.